


If At First You Don't Succeed

by laydeemayhem



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Better try another four times, Chikara just wants to go on a date, Dinner Date, First Date, Idiot duo, If at first you don't succeed, M/M, Prompt for EnnoTana week 2020:, So does Ryuu but he's more chill tbh, You're not helping, all the first date tropes, aquarium date, cinema date, everything's fluffy and nothing hurts, just my sweet boys having a good time, picnic date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laydeemayhem/pseuds/laydeemayhem
Summary: Ryuu asked Chikara to be his boyfriend and now all Chikara wants is to go on the perfect first date. Why is this so hard??This is 3,500 words of pure fluff and my soul has been lifted. I love Ennotana so much <3Written for Day 1 of EnnoTana Week 2020. Prompt - First Date
Relationships: Ennoshita Chikara/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: Ennotana Week 2020





	If At First You Don't Succeed

Tanaka had been acting weird for weeks, and Chikara had been worried that there was something seriously wrong with him to the point of thinking about mentioning it to Suga and Daichi in case they needed to do an intervention on the usually energetic and enthusiastic wing spiker, so when Tanaka asked him to stay behind after practice one day Chikara was seriously concerned that Tanaka was going to tell him he was quitting volleyball or something.

Instead he’d been met with a furiously blushing Tanaka who had grabbed his hand, bowed low, and shouted that he liked Chikara, very much, and would he please think about dating him. Chikara, despite also blushing fire engine red from his eartips down, agreed immediately. Boom, boyfriends.

School was busy with second term midterms and the volleyball team gearing up to play in the Spring Interhigh so they’d mostly just walked each other to and from school and so on. Tanaka had made Chikara lunch bentos and Chikara had helped Tanaka study for his English tests while they ate on the school roof. It wasn’t that they were trying to keep their relationship a secret but it hadn’t really come up with the rest of the team yet, and despite Tanaka’s bombastic declarations about Kiyoko Chikara realised that when it came to being a boyfriend Tanaka was actually kinda shy and doting. If it hadn’t been for Chikara grabbing Tanaka’s hand on the way home that first day he doubted Tanaka would have got up the courage to for weeks.

It was Chikara who asked Tanaka out on a real first date too, and that’s where the problems began. He’d been thinking about taking his boyfriend on an official first date for a while and had come up with and rejected quite a few plans already - Chikara was the sort of person who liked to plan things meticulously and he wanted to show Tanaka that he could be romantic too. Unfortunately he’d been so caught up in his planning that he hadn’t thought to check the changing room before asking Tanaka to go to the cinema with him that evening for the new release he’d been talking about for the last week. 

Which is how they’d ended up at the local multiplex with four excitable first years in tow (well, Tsukishima was stoic as ever but Chikara saw his face light up when Yamaguchi told him the film was about dinosaurs in space). 

“Race you to the entrance, Bakayama!” yells Hinata as he takes off at a run. 

“Dumbass! Don’t run in public!” 

Chikara loses sight of the two of them as they round the corner at speed. Tanaka reaches down to squeeze his hand as he shakes his head at their usual antics. Yamaguchi has already dragged a complaining Tsukishima after the idiot duo, promising to buy him popcorn so it was just the two of them, taking their time to catch up. 

“Hey now, why the long face?”

Chikara shrugs. “I guess I was just looking forward to spending some quiet time with you, away from the rest of the team.”

“Quiet time involving explosions and T-Rexes eating people on the moon?”

Chikara bumps his shoulder against his boyfriend’s, knocking him gently to one side. “Forgive me for wanting to spend time with my boyfriend that isn’t volleyball or school.” 

Tanaka grins back at him, a soft look in his eyes. “Ya big romantic.”

“Fine, fine. But they’re your problem. I’m going to drink coke and eat a massive box of popcorn and pretend they’re not here.”

“Heh, sure thing, Ennoshita, I’ll keep an eye on them. But I’ll expect payment in kisses later!” 

“Uhuh. You might want to wait on that, looks like security’s talking to the idiot duo.” Chikara points out a hangdog looking Hinata and Kageyama who were standing in a corner of the cinema foyer being berated by a woman in a uniform. Tanaka groans. 

“Ugh. Be right back! Don’t miss me when I’m gone!”

Chikara rolls his eyes fondly as Tanaka jogs lightly away to apologise to the security staff for the misconduct of their younger classmates and goes to find the concession stand by himself. It was only a first go at a first date, he told himself. Practice makes perfect.

————

Chikara decided that the best thing to do was to try a second first date as soon after the first as possible, so he invited Tanaka out for a picnic in the park that Sunday, this time making sure that there were no prying little ears around to scope out their plans. He even made rice balls to bring with him rather than buying all the food at the convenience shop. He might not be as good at cooking as Tanaka but he wanted to put the effort in to repay his boyfriend for all the lunches he brought into school. 

The weather was crisp as he made his way to the park that was conveniently situated halfway between Tanaka’s house and his own. Tanaka was waiting at the park entrance in a warm looking puffer coat and bright orange scarf, holding a fluffy blanket, and when he sees Chikara coming he starts jumping up and down and waving, a massive grin on his face.

“Chikaraaa, ya look great! This was a cool idea, c’mon, let me carry the food bag and we’ll go to the spot I’ve already found by the sports courts! I wanna watch the neighbourhood teams play.”

“You’re so embarrassing, Tanaka.”

“Yeah, but ya like me anyway, right?!”

“Mmm,” replies Chikara, noncommittally, passing off the bag and shoving his hands into his coat pockets. He side-eyes Tanaka who is pouting dramatically. “I guess I do.”

“Haha, yes!” Tanaka punches the air with his free hand and then grabs Chikara by the elbow to drag him into the park. “No take-backsies! You’re stuck with me now.”

“Oh no, how terrible,” deadpans Chikara, trying to cover up the warm feeling spreading through his stomach at Tanaka’s enthusiasm about their relationship. The best thing about being with Tanaka is how vocal he is about the things he enjoys, and Chikara is happy to be included in that list.

They’d just set out their blanket and are about to unpack the food when Tanaka’s phone goes off.

“Yeah, it’s Tanaka, whatcha want?.. Uhuh… uhuh… that’s cool, me ‘n Ennoshita are already here! See ya in 10, yeah? Awesome!”

Chikara feels his heart sink as Tanaka turns to him excitedly and says “The team’s on its way down to the park, Daichi wants to get some extra serve and receive practice in. Good thing we’re already here, huh? Will you be good in what you’re wearing?”

“Ah, yeah, I guess,” answers Chikara slowly. He’d worn reasonably comfortable clothes as he’d guessed they’d be sitting on the ground for a while, so long as he didn’t need to do any dives he should be fine. 

“Cool! Ah, I’m looking forward to Spring Interhighs, we’re gonna crush Aoba Johsai this time!” Tanaka leaps to his feet and clenches a fist, looking pumped already. Chikara takes a moment to admire his boyfriend’s handsome profile before sighing and repacking the food bag. He stands up, slinging it over one shoulder as Tanaka folds up the blanket. 

“Ready, babe? Let’s get going, I wanna crush Tsukki’s block today!” 

Chikara smiles at Tanaka’s boast and waves at him to go on, which he does with a woop. Another first date over before it began, he mused. Clearly he was going to have to try harder.

————

It was three weeks before Chikara had the time to ask Tanaka out on another first date - Spring Interhighs were just over a month away and they’d been inundated with homework and tests. Autumn Equinox Day was the Friday of this week though, and the school was having a half day. The gym was scheduled for maintenance so Daichi had reluctantly given them the day off of training, and Chikara was determined that this time he’d take Tanaka on the best first date ever. He’d booked tickets for the aquarium, and there was a cafe near by that did a chocolate cake and mocha combination that his older sister swore was the best thing she’d ever had, so he planned on taking Tanaka there once they were finished with the fish. Tanaka had been so excited when Chikara had told him about his plans that he hadn’t stopped talking about it all week. They’d agreed to meet at the school gates once their classes were over so they could take a leisurely walk over to the centre together. 

So Chikara was understandably very upset when he woke up the morning of Friday with a headache so bad he was seeing spots, a temperature, a stuffed up nose and no voice. His mum sent him straight back to bed when he’d slumped down the stairs and almost fallen asleep again at the breakfast table. He managed to send off a quick text to his boyfriend before pulling the covers up over his head and wishing that he had thicker curtains in his bedroom. Through the pain he couldn’t help but feel frustrated that his carefully planned outing had been scuppered by a simple head cold, but there was no way he’d be leaving the house today. He was only thankful that he wouldn’t have to skip practice as well. 

His mum pokes her head around the door on her way out to work.

“I’m so sorry darling, but I have a double shift today and your sister is staying at a friend’s tonight so it’ll just be you in the house today. Will you be alright?”

Chikara sticks a hand out from under the duvet and waves it listlessly in a feeble ‘of course, don’t worry about me’ fashion. His mum sighs. 

“I’ve left you some porridge on the side, heat it up for lunch if you feel like eating. There’s some money for dinner as well. Give me a call once you’re up to let me know how you are. Feel better, okay? I’m sorry I have to go.”

Chikara pops his head out from under the pillow he’d hidden under. 

“It’s fine, mum, I’ll be okay. Have a good day at work.” His voice sounds whispery and terrible. His mum looks unconvinced. 

“I mean it, Chikara, call me or I’ll worry.”

“I promise.”

She leaves reluctantly and Chikara burrows back under the covers. It isn’t hard to fall back asleep, and he’s dead to the world until the doorbell wakes him. He sits up and blearily wipes his eyes. By the look of the light coming through his window he’s slept straight through lunch and into the afternoon - the light is no longer streaming through his window and his headache has eased off a bit. The doorbell peals again and he pushes himself out of bed. Normally he’d shout that he was coming but his throat feels like it’s on fire. He stumbles down the stairs and opens the front door where to his surprise he finds his boyfriend waiting for him. Without thinking he shuffles forward and hugs Tanaka around the waist, nestling his head into his shoulder. 

“Good to see you too, babe,” laughs Tanaka, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. “Still feeling sick, huh?”

Chikara nods, not wanting to say anything out loud. Tanaka smells great, like clean laundry and the outside and Chikara buries his face into his jacket. 

“Hey look, you’ll get cold standing here. Lemme in and I’ll take care of you, okay?” 

Chikara reluctantly peels himself off Tanaka and lets him into the house. He shuffles into the front room and pulls the blanket off the back of the couch, snuggling under it. When he turns Tanaka is leaning against the doorframe with a gentle smile lighting up his eyes. 

“Hey babe,” he says softly, “why don’t ya have a sit down on the couch and I’ll warm up the soup I brought with me. I’ve got some of those arty films ya like, and some action ones with big explosions if ya want something mindless instead. I’ll be through in a minute, yeah?”

Chikara can feel himself making heart eyes and Tanaka laughs a little. Chikara feels like he falls a little more in love with Tanaka every time he laughs, and this time is no different. His boyfriend’s face is alive with a grin, and he’s looking at Chikara as if there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing right now. Chikara feels sticky and icky and bunged up and horrible, and Tanaka’s still wanting to be here with him. He’s so lucky. 

“Sit down before you fall down, babe,” advises Tanaka before he disappears into the kitchen. 

Chikara does just that, and feels himself dozing off to the sound of his boyfriend humming as he warms up some truly delicious smelling soup. Their aquarium plans may be a bust but any afternoon spent with Tanaka is a good one, after all. 

————

It’s Christmas Eve and Chikara is all dressed up with nowhere to go. Actually that’s not true, he absolutely has somewhere to go - a medium upscale restaurant in town that has a reservation for two for 7pm, in the window where they can see the shopping street lit up for the season and people-watch the last minute shoppers and romantic couples out for the evening. Chikara is in a suit and tie and his hair is perfect and he’s got Tanaka’s Christmas present wrapped and in a bag and he’s standing at the front door listening to the thunderstorm that rolled in just under an hour ago. Lightning lights up the sky for a moment and he can see through the little window that the rain is sheeting almost sideways, and the wind is straining the trees across the way to near breaking point. A roll of thunder follows and he turns to slump against the door. There’s no way anyone could go out in this weather, it’s far too dangerous. His mum has gone to her sister’s and his sister has gone to their dad’s, and Chikara is all alone in a house he shouldn’t be in, either. He can feel the tears welling up. This was meant to be the perfect first date. Finally it would just be him and Tanaka on the most romantic night of the year, making some perfect memories together. Instead he’s by himself in a cold house, dressed to the nines and no-one to show it off to. This just wasn’t fair.

His phone starts ringing and he almost ignores it but as it’s hitting the fifth ring he answers, worried that it might be his mum calling to see how he is and he doesn’t want to worry her. 

“Hi,” he says tiredly, letting his head fall back with a thump. “I’m doing alright, how’re you?”

“Hey babe!” 

Chikara pulls the phone away from his ear to stare at it, as if he could see his boyfriend through it. He puts it back up slowly after seeing TANAKA <3 splayed out across the screen. 

“…babe?”

“Ah, um, hey, Tanaka. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to call. I thought it was my mum.”

“Haha, yeah, it’s me. So I’m guessin’ we’re not meeting up tonight, huh.”

Chikara slumps down further. It was one thing to think about the date being cancelled and another thing completely to hear Tanaka say it out loud. That was it, the date was over before it had even begun.

”Yeah.”

“Hey babe, you sound so defeated.” Tanaka’s voice is kind and now Chikara really was crying, small hitching sobs that bubbled up from his throat and burst out of his mouth in wet spasms. 

“Babe. Babe. Hey, Chikara.”

Chikara gasps, dashing the tears from his eyes with his free hand. That was the first time Tanaka had used his first name. And he wasn’t even in the room to see his face. This was the worst.

“Chikara,” Tanaka repeats. “Wanna FaceTime me?” 

“I’m a mess. You don’t want to see me like this. I wouldn’t want to see me like this.”

“Chikara, please, babe. I do wanna see you, I don’t mind what you look like, you’ll always be beautiful to me. And if I can’t be there in person I’d at least like to see you on a screen, huh? Do it for me? I promise I don’t look much better.”

Huh? Chikara didn’t know what to make of that but Tanaka had already hung up. He opens up the FaceTime app and scrolls to Tanaka’s name, but finds his fingers hovering over it. He takes in a deep breath. Tanaka wouldn’t lie to him. He presses ‘Call’.

It only rings once before Tanaka answers. He’s in his bedroom, sitting at his desk, and he’s _drenched_. Rain is dripping down his face and beading on his eyelashes, and the blue button-down shirt he’s wearing is clinging like a second skin to his shoulders. 

“What happened?” Chikara exclaims, pulling his screen closer to his face as if that would help see Tanaka in more detail. 

“Aha, well,” Tanaka prevaricates, rubbing his head with one hand sheepishly. “I sorta, tried to walk to your house? But then the lightning got close and I thought it maybe wasn’t the best idea so I ran home and then called you.” 

“You’re an idiot,” said Chikara, shaking his head, but when Tanaka drops his head he gives in. “Hey, Ryuu.” 

Ryuu shoots straight back up and that glorious smile creeps across his face. “Yeah, Chikara?”

“Happy Christmas.”

“Happy Christmas to you too, my gorgeous boyfriend!” 

Chikara laughs, feeling 100% better. His Christmas Eve plans may be a wash but at least he can spend some time with Ryuu and neither of them would get hurt trying to go out in this weather. 

“I’ll keep your present safe until I see you after Christmas,” he promises, and laughs again when Ryuu’s screen goes blurry as he jumps around. 

“You got me a present! Aah, I’m so excited! What is it? Wait, don’t tell me. I got you something too, I hope you like it…”

Chikara sits down on the couch and rests his head on one hand, letting Ryuu’s happy babble wash over him. Tonight was working out alright after all. 

————

It was 5pm on Chikara’s birthday when he got a call from Ryuu. 

“Hey babe! Are you dressed?”

“That’s a really weird way to greet someone, Ryuu.”

“Sorry, sorry. How are you on this, the day of your birth, oh gorgeous boyfriend of mine?” 

Chikara shakes his head. Ryuu was irrepressible as usual. He felt that warm feeling in his stomach again. His boyfriend was a charmer and he loved it. 

“I’ve had a good day, actually, though I wish I could have seen you.”

“Then I’ve got good news! I’m outside your house right now.”

Chikara finds himself stuck for a moment, not comprehending what Ryuu had said until it sank in and he rushes to the front door, hurriedly jamming his feet into a pair of trainers. He slams the door open and there was Ryuu, standing on the driveway with a bunch of flowers in one hand and a gift bag in the other. 

“Happy birthday!” 

Chikara flings himself at Ryuu and hugs him tightly round the shoulders, Ryuu staggering back a bit under the unexpected weight.

“Haha, happy to see me then? Aw, Chika, didya miss me?” 

“Of course I did, you idiot, we’ve not been able to see each other all Christmas.”

Ryuu laughs and does his best to juggle the gifts and Chikara into a hug. 

“Well, how do you feel about coming out to dinner with me? I checked with your mum and she said it was okay.” 

Chikara pulls back and stares at Ryuu with stars in his eyes. 

“Really? We’ll go on a proper first date? And on my birthday? That’s so romantic!”

Ryuu blushes as hard as he had when he’d first asked Chikara out. 

“Romantic, huh? Ah, well, I guess, hehe. I got the restaurant to move our reservations from Christmas Eve, and we can still sit in the window, and then after we can go to the aquarium because they have late opening over the holidays, and then-”

Chikara didn’t get to hear what else Ryuu had planned because he was too busy kissing his boyfriend. It was a perfect birthday, and it would be a perfect first date, he could just feel it.

————

LATER:

“Wait, you said first date. Chika, it’s our fifth date!”

“Nope, it’s our first. I refuse to count the others as proper dates.”

“But Chikaraaaa, we went to the cinema and the park and everything! I made you soup!”

“And it was great soup, Ryuu, but I’m counting this one as our first proper, dressed up, going out, just the two of us, perfect date with my wonderful boyfriend. And if you agree with me I’ll kiss you again.”

“Yup, agreed, totally, first date, and you’re the smartest prettiest most awesome boyf-mmf-hmm…” 

<3


End file.
